Dreams
by HufflepuffFinder98
Summary: Nineteen years after gradation, Angela finds herself back in her home town for her sister's wedding. Now a single mom raising a young son, Angela is surprised to reconnect with an old high school friend. But when a former flame enters the picture, will love be enough?
1. Chapter 1

"Oh, look at this tiling, Thomas!" Rickie enthused to his husband as they walked through the lobby of the ornate hotel.

"I know!" replied Thomas, a proud smile on his face as he stared at the fresco he himself had commissioned. "I did so well."

Rickie laughed as he turned to Angela. "So confident in his own designs. I love it."

Angela smiled affectionately at her old friend.

"You both haven't changed at all."

Looking down at the two children holding hands with Thomas and Rickie. "Can't say the same for these two." she said affectionately, grinning at her honorary niece and nephew, Beatrice and Jeff. "You both have gotten so big!"

Both twins beamed at Angela, showing her their trademark glowing smiles. Angela saw the first signs of puppy dog eyes in Beatrice and knew she was going to ask for something.

"Auntie Angela, can we go swimming with Jack?"

Angela rubbed the little girl's hair affectionately.

"If it's okay with your daddies, Jack will take you to the pool."

Beatrice turned to Rickie, the younger looking at her father with big brown eyes.

"Daddy?"

"You can go, Papa and I have to unpack."

"Sounds boring." Replied Beatrice

"Oh, it is!" replied Rickie. He gave Beatrice a kiss on the head and pulled his son into a hug. Rickie turned to the concierge to check in.

"Vasquez-Coste for the Albertson wedding?"

"Be nice to Jack." reminded Thomas. He reached into his backpack and pulled out the sunscreen.

"Daddy!" groaned Beatrice

"Sunscreen is very important, young lady. You and I both know that."

Beatrice sighed dramatically as her father sprayed her arms and legs, quickly lifting her dark curls to make sure her neck was covered. She had inherited Rickie's looks but she had picked up her dramatic side from Thomas.

"Where is Jack?" Asked Rickie and Angela turned her head, looking for her son. She couldn't hide her amusement when she saw him enraptured at a large portrait of Paul McCartney twenty feet away.

"He really loves the Beatles, doesn't he?" Laughed Thomas. "You Americans love your rock stars."

"Yes, yes we do." Replied Rickie, holding the key pass to his room. He saw a familiar blonde haired man at the check in desk three down from theirs and gasped.

"Brian!"

"Here you go, Mr. Krakow." The smiling concierge handed him the keys. "Enjoy your stay!"

The blonde man turned around abruptly, surprised though happy to see Rickie and Thomas.

"Oh, hey Rickie." Said Brian, pulling his friend into a hug. "Haven't seen you forever."

"You remember Angela, right?" Said Rickie, motioning to his friend. "Angela Chase?"

Brian and Angela made eye contact awkwardly before shaking hands. Brian knew he was going to see her again, given the occasion but he realized no matter how hard he tried to tell himself he had forgotten her, seeing her was a strange sensation that he didn't know how to feel about.

"Hi, Brian." Said Angela, smiling slightly awkwardly. She hadn't known her sister had invited Brian, even though she knew Danielle was fond of him.

There were a few months of tense silence before Jack came to the checkout counter. "Hey, the twins want me to take them swimming after this. They also want to eat lunch."

Thomas looked at his children knowingly. "Did Jack offer to buy you lunch?"

"Yeah, I did." Confirmed Jack "There's a McDonald's down the street. We can walk there."

"Do you have your phone on you?" Asked Angela "Your wallet?"

Jack groaned playfully and Angela laughed at her son.

"Of course I do mom. I got everything. I'll be back before Aunt Danielle's party."

Angela scruffied her son's hair. "See you at 4."

Jack took Beatrice's and Jeff's hands and the three walked out one of the hotel's double doors.

"C'mon, let's get settled in." Said Rickie. "It's great to see both of you again. Tell me Brian, what is it that you've been doing lately."

Brian felt his mouth go dry and his body go tense as he tried to avoid looking at Angela.

"I work at Google now. I got promoted a few months ago, actually."

He was amazed he managed to say anything without vomiting.

"That's great, Brian." Said Angela, sincerely. "What else are you currently doing?"

Brian found himself surprised by her response and felt slightly less stiff in his shoulders.

"I just sold my apartment in Washington DC. I'm moving to Manhattan for work in a few weeks. What have you been doing?"

"I'm living in the upper west side now, actually. I work as a freelance writer."

"Danielle never mentioned you had a son. Congratulations."

"Thank you. Speaking of Danielle, I have to go help set up for the party. See you in a hour."

Angela put her suitcase on a luggage cart and pushed it on one of the elevators, quickly becoming out of sight behind the brassy elevator doors. Even after she had left the lobby, Brian could still feel his heart beating quickly.

No one said anything for a few seconds and Brian begin feeling nauseous again. He told a deep breath and noticed Thomas watching him, his grey eyes full of concern. Brian tried to calm himself by taking three deep breathes.

"You really missed her, didn't you Brian?" Asked Thomas gently.

Brian didn't deny it. "I really did."

"Even after you met Leah?"

Brian took a deep breath. "Even then." he admitted. "I haven't seen her in nearly twenty years and she can still do that. It's ridiculous."

"It's how you felt when you last saw her, you told us."

"It's not 1997 anymore. What happened between us is in the past, ok?"

Brian felt his nausea worsening and what felt like his heart dropping into his stomach.

"She has a kid."

The heartbreaking pain of his realization intensified when he released the kid's age.

"He's what, fifteen sixteen, seventeen years old?" Brian mumbled. "That puts him at 2000, 2001-"

"1999. He was born in early 1999, Brian." Rickie felt terrible telling his friend, knowing it would devastate him.

Brian looked sadly at Rickie and Thomas. "I'm going to put my things away"

Brian didn't even grab a cart, instead walking to the elevator holding his duffel bag, a pained on his face as the doors closed.

"We should put our bags in the room and get ready for the party." muttered Thomas

"Yeah, we should." Agreed Ricky. He reached for Thomas's hand and they intertwined their fingers as they pushed the elevator button. The two quickly caught an elevator to their room on the 19th floor, both silently thinking of their friends.


	2. Chapter 2

Brian found himself at the hotel bar thirty minutes later, having unpacked his bag. He was only staying in the hotel for four days, yet he had unpacked everything and put them in the vanity drawers of his room.

He held the Jack and Coke in his hands tightly, before reluctently taking a gulp. He knew he shouldn't be drinking but he chugged it anyways, trying to forget the anxiety and depression that had come to him over the last hour.

Everything had changed so much since he'd returned to the small town of Liberty, just half an hour outside of Pittsburgh. As he had driven to the hotel, he was shocked to see all that had happened since he had left to go to university.

There were new subdivisions everywhere, the modern styles in sharp contrast to the houses built in the 1960's. There was a new strip mall three blocks from his childhood home, the quiet, grassy area filled with trees had been paved over and a Burger King and CVS had taken its place. He had driven past the kids restaurant where he had his 7th birthday party and was saddened to see a new grocery store where it had once been.

His 7th birthday had been the best he'd ever had. He still remembered how his birthday cake was vanilla with red frosting and with seven blue and white candles on top. He remembered a man dressed as a panda bear singing Happy Birthday to him and playing in the ball pit.

He remembered after he had blown out his candles, Angela and Sharon both squeezed him a hug and he had never felt more loved than when they were both holding him.

He told a deep breath and finished the last of his drink, telling the bartender to put it on his hotel bill.

He took the elevator to his hotel room and when he reached his room, pulled the duvet over his body.

 _Why does everything in my life come back to her_? Brian thought as he brushed one of his blonde ringlets out of his face. _Somehow, it just all relates back to Angela._

Brian wished he had seen her some time before now. He wished they had never lost contact after high school and he knew he should have looked for her on the Internet. The fact that he hadn't angered him.

He thought back to that night in 1997, trying to remember when he had felt like when he was last with her.

* * *

August 12, 1997

It had taken eighteen months for it to happen and Brian was grateful that it finally had.

Angela Chase was lying down next to him on the Chase's roof, both curled up with pillows and a wool blanket that Brian had brought from the Krakow's living room. It felt strangely dreamlike to Brian, to be lying next to Angela on her roof staring at the stars and being on a first name basis again.

"Brian?" asked Angela, lying on her side. "What do you want out of your life?"

"What do you mean?" Asked Brian.

"You know what I mean." she said, rolling her eyes but slyly smiling. Brian couldn't help but smile back as he looked at her.

"I want to design computer software."

"What else?"

Brian understood what she was asking now and felt his heart beat faster. He shifted closer towards her, pulling the blanket up to his stomach and readjusting his pillow

"I guess I want to live in a city with lots of technology, somewhere like Silicone Valley. Settle down and start a family. What do you want?"

"I want to write poetry. I don't care where I live, as long as it isn't here."

Brian moved even closer to her, so close that he could smell her shampoo, the same shampoo that always reminded him of visiting his grandmother. It was a poignant reminder of how far apart they had been.

"Why don't you want to stay in Liberty?"

"Everything's changing and it doesn't feel like home anymore. It's why I'm going to DC with Sharon and Rayanne. Since Sharon and I already got accepted into George Washington and Rayanne has a job waiting for her there, it makes sense."

Angela's body shifted and she was only two inches from him, so close he see her breathing.

"Would you ever get married?" He asked.

She looked surprised by his question.

"Yeah, I would." She paused and Brian felt closer to her than he'd ever been "It sounds so stupid but it's what I want one day."

Brian looked into her eyes. "If it's what you want, then it isn't stupid, Angela."

Angela rested her head on Brian's shoulder. "You really know me."

"Of course I do, I'm your friend." Brian's answer felt awkward and he knew Angela didn't think it was sincere.

"No, I mean even when I only called you by your last name and made you do my science project, and rode off with Jordan, you never stopped caring about me."

"I've hurt you before. I spread the rumor about you and Jordan, I said hurtful things behind your back. I was an idiot."

"Then I was an idiot, too."

Angela paused and Brian felt his anxiety rise. He knew exactly what was about to happen.

"Why did you write the letter?"

"Because.." He tried to make the words he wanted to say come to him.

"I care about you, you're my friend. I knew how you felt about Jordan and I wanted you to be happy."

It was a lie and Brian felt terrible saying it and even worse when he saw visible disappointment in Angela's eyes.

"Thank you." she murmured. She rested her head on his chest and

Brian wished the moment could last forever as Angela embraced him. With Angela, the world felt still and he wished time would stop so they could stay here, curled up on his roof on a cool fall night, the leaves on the nearby tree blowing in the wind. Just her and him, forever.

* * *

Present Day

Unfortunately, time went on. The next morning, Brian left for Arizona to go set up his dorm room and take care of some paperwork, promising Angela he would be back to see her off before she left for D.C. on August 25.

But when Brian came back three days later, Angela was gone. He walked to the Chase's home and Danielle confirmed what he had suspected. Angela was already gone. He cursed himself for getting the day wrong, even when he himself left for Arizona on August 26.

He tried to reach her in DC as soon as he could. He called her school, but they refused to give her information to a random person. He scoured national phone books and considered going to DC himself when he finally admitted defeat.

 _That was the most idiotic thing I've ever done in my entire life._ He thought to himself.

In 2003, Brian had finally earned both his masters degrees and was offered a position at Google. He took it and that same year, met a woman named Leah Wilkes.

And getting involved with Leah comes in second place he thought bitterly.

He proposed two years later and Brian thought he had moved on from Angela.

When their daughter Willow was born nine years later, Brian thought he had made the right choice.

Until the divorce. Leah left him when their daughter was five months old, taking their apartment, their car, and half of everything he owned.

And then she took sole custody of Willow.

The memory made Brian feel uncharacteristically violent. He ripped the covers off himself and kicked them to the floor. He grabbed a small liquor bottle from the mini bar and drank it in seconds. The loss of his daughter was one that was too much to bear whenever he thought about her.

He threw the bottle in the trash and his hands were on his head in a state of distress.

This would've continued had he not heard a knock on the door.

"Be right there." He muttered and he opened the door to see Sharon Cherski outside his hotel room.

"Hi, Brian!" She chirped "Rick and Danielle's wedding shower is five minutes and Angela told me you weren't answering your phone and she asked me to check on you."

"Why didn't she come?" Brian asked grumpily.

She's dealing with something at the moment. There's something wrong with her son."

"Let me change shirts and I'll come with you. Business Center's on the 12th floor, right?"

"Yeah."

Brian closed his door and pulled a blue button up out of the drawer, put it on, and then walked away with Sharon.


	3. Chapter 3

The wedding shower was already starting when Sharon and Brian walked into the business center. There was a table with snack foods and alcohol on it and Brian began walking towards it when Sharon grabbed him.

"Brian, don't you remember what you said at AA?"

"I haven't drank in six months. I'll be fine."

Sharon tightened her grip on Brian's arm. "I smelt liquor on you earlier and Richard told me he saw you at the bar today. Why are you drinking again?"

Brian was about to answer her when Sharon realized the answer to her question. "It's about Angela, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Brian, you have to let her go. It's been nineteen years!"

Brian didn't respond to her. Instead, he grabbed a soda from the table and sat down at a table.

Brian knew Sharon was usually right. After all, she and her husband Richard had let Brian stay with them after he lost his apartment. She had gotten him involved in AA after he had hit rock bottom with his drinking and helped him to reform his life. He owed her everything.

"Hi, Brian!"

Angela walked towards him and enveloped him a hug. It didn't feel as awkward as Brian had expected.

Brian was sure Sharon was wrong this time.

"Hey."

"It's great seeing you again. I didn't know Danielle had invited you until we met in the lobby."

Brian looked at her. "Well, I'm here." He felt the familiar sensation of not knowing what to say. "So, what kind of freelance work do you do?"

"I write a lot for the Wall Street Journal. It lets me spend more time with my son."

Brian looked over to see Jack talking to Danielle at a nearby table. "How old is he?"

"He's about to turn sixteen. He's a great kid, always taking care of Jeff and Beatrice."

"He seems like a nice kid, Angela. You did a really good job."

Angela took a sip of her drink. "Do you have any children, Brian?"

Brian tensed up slightly. "I have an eighteen month year old."

"Congratulations, Brian. I'm really glad you found someone."

"Actually, I'm divorced from her mother."

Angela looked genuinely sympathetic and touched Brian's shoulder. "I know what it's like. I've raising Jack alone since he was a baby."

Brian was about to tell her that he didn't have custody when their conversation was interrupted.

"Angela!"

Sharon Cherski came up to Angela and enveloped her in a hug.

"How are you?" Asked Sharon. "Come here, I want to show you something."

Brian hid his disappointment that their conversation was over and went to grab another Coke from the snack table.

* * *

The party really began an hour later when dinner was served. Brian looked around for his place card out of the nearly one hundred in the business conference room.

 _Sheldon M, Kelly J, Andy S,_ he read all the cards quietly before finally finding his.

 _Brian K_

He sat down at his spot and was surprised when Angela sat down beside him and Brian wondered if he was at a wrong table, seeing as Angela was the bride's sister.

"I'm at the wrong table." He told Angela.

"Rick and Danielle wanted to mix up the seating chart. You're not in the wrong place."

Angela warmly smiled at him and Brian knew he was in for an interesting night.

* * *

The shower came and went and by seven, it was wrapping up.

Brian and Angela were sitting on a wicker sofa near the pool on the third floor, watching the sun go down. Angela has a champagne glass in her right hand and leaned against the sleeve of the sofa as Brian took a sip of his coke, watching the sunset as he conversed with Angela.

Or more accurately, Brian was watching Angela. He was amazed that she looked so much like she did when she was eighteen years old. She had faint wrinkles near her eyes and her lips were slightly thinner but she was still the same Angela Chase he had seen in 1997.

Brian knew he had changed, too. His hair had darkened and he had some stubble but he knew he didn't look his thirty-six years.

It felt like nothing had changed at all

"Brian?"

"Brian?"

Brian snapped out of his daze. "Yeah?"

"Is something on your mind?" Asked Angela

Brian decided to answer honestly. "It's weird to be back in Liberty."

"I know. Nothing is the same."

Brian took another sip of his coke. "The stars still look the same."

"I haven't seen a sky filled with stars in years. Not since I moved to DC. There's so much light pollution there and when I moved to New York"

Brian took a sip of his drink

"Angela, how did you end up in New York?"

He regretted asking when he saw Angela tense up and take sip from her glass.

"I'm sorry, you don't have to answer."

Brian suddenly felt like he was fifteen years old again. The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife and he expected Angela to snap at him and walk away.

He felt relieved when Angela finally broke the silence.

"It's fine." She told him "We relocated after Rayanne died."

"I'm sorry." Sympathized Brian. "I had no idea she was dead."

"It was unexpected." Admitted Angela. "She had been clean for five years and was working her dream job."

Brian saw a pained look on her face and the look alone was enough to break his heart.

"She was crossing the street one day when she was hit by a car. She had every right to be on that crosswalk and that asshole still drove through it. He didn't even stop when he hit her."

Now the memory was clearly was upsetting her immensely. Angela was clearly in a lot of pain and Brian nearly jumped out off the couch to comfort her. He didn't even think about how she was letting him hold her as she cried.

"It was a few weeks after Jack's first birthday. She loved him so much and watched him whenever I was working. She lived with Sharon and I while we were in college and when Jack was born, she helped me care for him."

Angela's tears kept pouring and she didn't care that she was being stared at by other guests.

"The Pentagon was attacked a few months later and it was very upsetting for all of us. Our apartment wasn't that far away from the building and it was especially hard on Sharon. She left to go live in Boston in January and it was just Jack and and I."

"We lived in a lot of places between 2002 and 2007. Three apartments, a rental house, and my parents house."

Angela began to regain her composure."After years of writing for an online newsletter, I caught a break. An article I wrote on Nancy Pelosi caught a lot of attention and _The New York times_ bought the rights. It all got better after that. We were able to move to Manhattan so I could work there."

Angela's story moved him and he wanted to hold her even tighter.

"You did great, Angela. You really did. I don't know if it means anything from me but you're fantastic."

Angela grinned at him, her eyes moist. "It does."

"Does talking about it help?"

"It does, actually. I've never told the full story to anyone"

As Angela smiled at Brian, she felt something she never would've expected. Complete trust. She could trust in someone she hadn't seen in almost twenty years and Angela felt like she could tell him anything.

* * *

If someone had told Angela in 1995 that someday she would be falling for Brian Krakow, she would have laughed in their face. And yet, she knew that was exactly what was happening.

Here they were, now in their thirties and successful and Angela was trusting Brian with her deepest secrets. The champagne in her glass helped but Angela had long known she wanted to tell him.

Somehow, it made sense to her despite having not seen him for nearly twenty years.

"Angela?" He mumbled meekly.

"Yes, Brian?"

"I missed you. a lot actually."

Angela's spirits rose when he admitted that.

"I've missed you, too."

She wasn't surprised when he moved closer to her and looked into her eyes. Still, the feeling sent a rush through her.

They were quiet once more and Angela brushed away one of his dark blonde ringlets away from face. Brian touched her cheek gently and loved how smooth her skin was. He couldn't take his eyes off her lips. The full, pink lips that were perfectly shaped and had made him weak all through high school.

He gave in.

He leaned in and kissed her and he felt anxious when she froze up. His fear was short lived, as she returned the kiss softly pressing her lips against hers. It was everything they could've hoped for and Angela knew she never wanted to stop.

But Brian did stop the moment he tasted the champagne on her lips, pulling away.

"You're drunk, he whispered, horrified. He quickly sat up from the couch."

"Brian-"

"No, you're _drunk_! You didn't say any of that sober, you were buzzed. And I kissed you."

"I would've said it anyways."

Brian looked at her and the tears pouring down her face. She looked at him and he couldn't walk away.

"I wanted to say it for years, I just never got the chance." Her tears intensfied "I just thought you forgot about me."

"No" Brian whispered. His voice was nearly choked out by his own emotions.

"I _never_ forgot you."

"I thought you didn't want me anymore and didn't call me. I went to DC, I had a baby when I was twenty, I lived where there was a terrorist attack and my best friend was killed in an accident."

"Angela…"

"I wanted you there so bad, I thought all of a sudden you hated me and never wanted to see me again."

Brian felt like he was going to pass out and sat back down on the couch.

"I called the school three times looking for you, twice in 1997 and then tried again in 1999. They wouldn't let me speak to you in 97' and they wouldn't even confirm if you were there in 99'.

Brian took a deep breath. "I thought you didn't want _me."_ He didn't mean to raise his voice but he was pissed at the circumstances that had kept them apart for twenty years. "I can't believe it."

He threw his arms over his head and groaned, resting his face in his palms.

Angela moved to put her arms around his waist and he stroked her hair as she rested her head on his shoulder. 1997 was long gone but to them, 2016 could be a new start.


	4. Chapter 4

Jack Chase left his aunt Danielle's party early, tired after being on the road that day. He took the elevator back to the 9th story hotel room, fiddling with a hair tie on his left wrist.

He'd been growing out his hair for about six months and he knew it suited him. The jaw length brown waves complimented his wide blue eyes, the color he had inherited from his mother.

Jack had her nose and her haunting sea blue eyes but other than that, Jack looked like someone else entirely. Someone who he had never seen but knew he had to resemble. He knew the last time his dad had been around was in 1999, a couple of years after his parents graduated high school. They'd been on and off since 1994 and somewhere along the line, his mother had become pregnant and his dad never came back.

He sometimes wondered why his dad hadn't wanted him. Angela was 20 when Jack was born and he was smart enough to know that most teen dads didn't stick around. He had vivid memories of hearing that in 8th grade health class that only a fifth of of teenage fathers stay around and that fact had eclipsed anything else he might have learned there.

And while his mom had rarely spoken about his father, she had told him stories about how he would play his guitar for her and how even though he was shy, he was funny and had a kind heart.

But the stories he heard weren't enough. He had grandparents, he had his mom, his Aunt Danielle, Sharon, Rickie, and Thomas. He had Rayanne until she was killed. And as much as he loved them, he still wished his dad had stuck around.

But he didn't. And Jack knew his father was never coming back. His friend Andy's dad had left too, when he was seven. It had turned out he passed away shortly after he left. Jack wondered if maybe, his father had too.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by hearing two girls look at him, whispering.

"Jesus, that guy looks like Jordan fucking Catalano."

"He does!"

Jack felt uncomfortable by the whispering and felt relieved when they got off at the 11th floor. Remembering he was supposed to get ice, he made a mental note to visit the machine on the tenth floor.

At floor ten, a man with an large eagle tattoo got on and looked surprised to see Jack there.

Jack now felt very uncomfortable and felt a twinge of confusion at his anxiety. He wasn't the most outgoing kid but he asked the tattooed man what was on his mind.

"Do you know who Jordan Catalano is?"

The man with the tattoo looked surprised.

"You don't know who he is?" the man asked incredulously.

Jack snapped his hair tie.

"No, I don't."

"He's my band mate. We just finished playing a gig."

"Oh."

"Why you asking?"

"I keep hearing the name."

"You'll hear it more often. This is last stop on our tour."

"In Liberty?"

"Pittsburgh, kid. The hotel is far enough away from the psychos."

The elevator stopped at the 9th floor and Jack got off, fully aware of the strange look the man was giving him. He went into his hotel room, grabbed the ice bucket, and went back to the elevator. Another man got in with him and Jack wondered why he couldn't get an elevator alone.

The man had long brown hair and was tall, about Jack's height. He had a tired look on his face and it surprised Jack how the man looked familiar to him and how he felt at ease. He looked over the man's tattoos, a skull on his bicep and a candle going down his arm, its pink wax dripping down to his wrist. But what caught Jack's attention was the name written on his wrist.

Angela.

Jack spoke up quietly. "I like your wrist tattoo."

The man looked at him surprised. "Thanks."

"Isn't it a little late for a kid your age to be out?"

"I'm just getting ice for my mom."

The man looked at him again.

"Not that I should say that. I stayed out later than you at your age."

Jack didn't know why the man was telling him this but he didn't mind.

Jordan Catalano looked at the boy closely and he felt his heart race. He recognized him right away and was unsure of what to say.

This was Angela Chase's son. He knew those eyes anywhere and her nose was instantly recognizable. He hadn't seen her since the late 1990s but he found out about her and her son in 2009 after reading her article on the economic crisis. Her biography on her articles was short and to the point, but it was there and he read it with fervor. Jordan had been following her journalism career since he saw he first article in 2004. She had done well for herself and he was proud of her, even though he was no longer in her life.

Jordan had stopped receiving messages from Angela in 1998. He never knew why they stopped. He still wondered years later if he had done something that had hurt her but he would never know.

The kid in front of him was proof Angela had moved on, that she had a life with someone else.

"Have we met?" Asked the kid. Jordan could tell he felt uneasy and he smiled at him.

"No. But I'm Jordan. Jordan Catalano."

"Oh. I've heard of you." Jack felt his unease melting away and the man smiled at him. Jordan could tell the kid was 16, 17.

Born around 1999, 2000 he thought. Had Angela moved on that quickly?

Jack put his hair brown hair in a ponytail and Jordan had a moment of clarity. The green eyes and the nose were Angela's but the brown hair, the jawline? Those were his features. The wavy hair and his tall, slim build were others and Jordan knew it might not mean anything but it felt like it did.

"Is your last name Chase?" Asked Jordan. He already knew what the answer was but he had to make sure."

"Yeah." Jack felt uncomfortable again and clutched his ice bucket. He felt relieved when the elevator got him to the floor and he walked off quickly.

"Wait! Don't leave!"

The man was following him and Jack felt his anxiety creep up. He walked faster and the man followed him in pursuit.

"C'mon, I just need to ask you a question."

Jack didn't stop.

"Please!"

Jack started running and he ran down the hallway before finding Sharon's door. He knocked on it frantically and Sharon's husband, Richard answered.

"Jack, what's wrong?" He asked, seeing the frightened look on the teenager's face.

Jack just walked into the room and Richard could see how anxious he was.

"Jack, what is it?"

"There's some guy following me and he knows my name. I don't know how."

"Stay inside" said Richard, "He can't find you here." He said reassuringly.

Sharon walked out of the bathroom and was confused to see what was going on.

"What's wrong?" She asked, seeing the terrified look on Jack's face.

"There's some guy following him." Said Richard.

"He said his name was Jordan Catalano."

"Jordan Catalano?" Asked Sharon, stunned. The look on her face worried Jack even more as he sat down on the Cherski's sofa.

Sharon quickly phoned Angela as she comforted the teenager on the hotel sofa. She hugged Jack tightly and Richard patted his shoulder.

"Sharon?" He whispered. His eyes filled up with water and he couldn't believe he was about to ask because there was no way it could be true.

"Was my father's name Jordan Catalano?"

Sharon didn't answer and there was a knock on the door.

"Who's there?" asked Richard apperhensivly.

"Angela."

Richard opened the door and Angela rushed to her son who burst into tears.

"Mom, I need to know about my dad."

Angela knew it was time to tell her son about his father and what had happened before he was born. She just wished she didn't have to tell him like this.


	5. Chapter 5

Angela's past had come back to her that night in the form of Brian Krakow and it was wonderful. And now if she understood correctly, she would have to deal with the return of Jordan Catalano. She already knew it would be a _very_ difficult night for both her and Jack.

She held on tight to her son, who was crying onto her shoulder. Jack hadn't cried since elementary school and seeing the tears flow down her teenage son's face broke her heart. He looked like a little boy again and Angela held him even tighter, rubbing his back and whispering softly.

Sharon and Richard stood by watching helplessly and quietly before Sharon quietly told her husband that she was going to check on their children in the next room. Richard looked at Jack and realizing he could do nothing, followed his wife.

"Mom." said Jack, now choking on his tears "Why don't you talk about dad? He's not _dead_ right?."

"No baby, he's not dead .."

"Mom, _please_ tell me. I _need_ to know"

Angela took a deep breath and braced herself. She pulled out her cellphone and opened the Facebook app, searching for what she wanted to show Jack. She quickly found the page Sharon had set up for the class of 97' reunion next year and pulled up one picture taken during her senior year. A blonde girl in a blue flannel shirt standing next to an older classmate with long brown hair. She handed the phone to her son.

"That's me on the left when I was seventeen years old. Next to me is your dad."

Jack wiped his tears with his sleeves and stared at the picture intently as he looked at his father for the first time. He took it all in as best as he could, took _him_ in as much as he could. His father's arm was wrapped around his mother and his mother smiled awkwardly. He noticed the caption and read it as quickly as he could, trying to read as much as he could.

 _Seniors Angela Chase, 18 and Jordan Catalano, 20 enjoy time together in the_ _hallways._

"When was this taken?" asked Jack

"Right before graduation. I broke up with him a week after this was taken."

Jack looked at his mother confused. "Why?"

Angela sighed nervously. "Because I had feelings for a friend and felt bad about dating him."

Jack sent the picture to himself and his phone in his pocket trilled, indicating it had been sent. He stared at his father on his mother's phone and zoomed into the picture, trying to get a clearer look at him through the grainy, faded yearbook photo.

"What happened to Dad?"

Angela had been dreading answering the question since Jack had starting asking as a young child. Angela had a vague idea of Jordan's exploits since the late 90's, including a minor hit in 2007 but anything else about him was foreign to her. She had tried to contact him over a dozen times between Jack's conception and the time Jack entered middle school but never received a response. Angela had assumed he was ignoring her and Jack's existence and ceased contact in 2010.

Angela took a deep breath and wrapped her son in a hug, trying to figure out the best way to soften the emotional blow. "Sometimes." She began. "People aren't ready to be parents and your dad wasn't ready to be a dad."

Jack didn't even look at her. He kept looking at the young man in the picture until he abruptly handed his mother back her phone and searched for something on his own. Angela was confused until she saw him type "Jordan Catalano" into the google search bar

When he saw the results, he felt shock wash over him and as he tried to stand, he suddenly felt his legs wobbling before falling directly into a night stand and getting knocked out cold.

When Jack woke, his mother, Sharon and Richard were all sitting next to him concerned. He opened his eyes and the trio breathed a sigh of relief. He saw blood on his mother's dress and realized his nose and lip were both bleeding. A moment later. he realized he was lying on a bed in the Cherski's bedroom, the three Cherski children sleeping peacefully in the bed nearby. He tried to say something but he was too dizzy to make it coherent.

"Jack, do you know where you are?" asked Richard.

Jack felt too dizzy to answer. He just wanted to sleep and his eyes felt so heavy.

"Jack, don't close your eyes!" warned Richard. "I think you have a concussion."

Richard took his smartphone from his pocket and shined the flashlight on Jack. His eyes shut again.

He looked back towards his wife and Angela. "Call an ambulance."

* * *

An ambulance came ten minutes later and Jack was loaded up onto a stretcher and carried down the hallway. Angela stayed close to the stretcher and anxiously followed her son with the technicians. When they arrived at the elevator, she couldn't fit in with both the crew and her son on the stretcher and she hopped onto the next elevator and rode down to the lobby, her blood stained dress attracting the stares of those dining there.

"Angela!"

Brian Krakow saw her from the dining room and rushed towards her, shocked to see the blood on her clothes.

"What happened?" He asked frantically and before she could answer, Jack was wheeled out of another elevator and out the front door.

"Holy shit!"

Angela rushed back towards Jack and kept with him as they loaded him into an ambulance. She tried to climb in the passenger seat before being stopped by one of the technicians.

"Mam, another emergency worker needs to sit there."

"Can I ride with him in the back?"

"I'm afraid not."

 _"_ Please!" said Angela, pleading. The technician looked sympathetic but shook his head.

"Angela, I'll order a Lyft!" Yelled Brain.

Angela looked at the technician and looked back at Brian. She ran towards Brian as he quickly requested a Lyft and she attempted to calm herself, though failed miserably.

"There's no way this can get any worse." cried Angela.

As if one cue, a black car pulled up and three men got out, including one Angela recognized all too well.

Angela buried her face in the shirt of Brian's collar and knew things would in fact, only get worse from her.

"Angela Chase?" Shouted one of the men and Angela clung tighter to Brian.

Jordan Catalono was with her in a hotel parking lot as Brian Krakow held her as she was on the brink of a breakdown. The Lyft arrived and Angela and Brian got into it, the headlights allowing Jordan to notice the blood on Angela's dress. The Lyft drove off and Angela buried her face in her palms, overwhelmed. Brian kept holding on to her in the car, attempting to soothe her and failing miserably.

Both were so caught up in worry that neither noticed Jordan getting back into the black car and following them.

* * *

Jordan wanted answers. He wanted to know about the boy he had met in the hallway that he knew was Angela's son. He wanted to know about the bloodstains on Angela's clothes and the man she was with, as well as who was in the ambulance.

While he was not known for his intelligence, Jordan had a sneaking feeling that he knew exactly what was going on. He figured out that the boy couldn't have been born past 1999 and from there, the pieces started to come together. He and Angela had been on and off ever since 1994 and this was a pattern that continued into the summer of 1998 before he left on tour with his band.

Angela promised him she'd call but never did. It was unusual for her and he never understood why she stopped when they had been doing fine before he left.

He remembered how he had started fooling around when Angela came back to three rivers during Christmas break in 1997 and had gotten back together on New Years Eve, parked inside Red near downtown Pittsburgh. He had never forgotten that night and he had never gotten over her, even now she still held a place in his mind. They hadn't broken up when he left on tour but she acted like they had and the sudden freeze in communication both confused and devastated him.

He arrived at the hospital and saw Angela and Brian getting out of the Lyft. He quickly walked towards them and Angela turned towards him. She looked terrified and even after all that she had done, he knew he didn't want to hurt her.

She looked at him, he looked back and her and she realized he had found out.

"Jack?" She asked quietly.

"Is he-"

"Yes!" She shouted. At this point, it was too much to bear.

Brian Krakow was now looking between Angela and Jordan Catalano with confusion.

"Is this your husband?" Asked Jordan

"No, he's just a friend."

Jordan looked at Brian again and realization hit.

" _Brian Krakow?"_ Jordan exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"It doesn't matter, why are _you_ here?"

"Because my son was in that ambulance!"

"Jordan.."

Brian looked at Jordan nastily though Jordan could tell he was shocked. "So you admit to walking out on Angela and your son?"

"Jordan.."

Jordan looked furious at Brian. "Why are you here with them?"

"Why weren't you with them for the last sixteen years?"

"I didn't know I had a son until tonight!"

Angela was shocked and was starting to feel just as lightheaded as her son had earlier. The champagne was still in her system and not eating at the party was taking it's toll.

"You didn't know you had a son?" Angela shouted angrily, surprising both men. "I left you twelve voicemails about him and you never responded to any of them!"

Angela walked as fast as she could into the hospital, both Brian and Jordan closely following her. She walked towards the check in counter and rang the bell.

"Yeah, hi. My son Jack Chase is here, I need to see him." Angela still sounded panicky and the blood on her dress had caught the attention of the woman who looked for Jack's records.

"Mam, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I just want to know if my son's okay."

Jordan came closer to the desk and tried to hold Angela up.

"I'm getting her a wheelchair." said the woman at the front desk. She looked at Jordan curiously.

"Have I seen you before."

"Probably. We just want to see Jack."

"Who are you?"

"Jack's father."

"I can walk!" She protested but she reached for Brian's arm. He helped pull hold her up and Angela did not miss him glaring at Jordan.

The woman looked at Jordan again. "Jack is on the 5th floor, Mr. Chase."

Jordan didn't even bother correcting her and instead pushed the 5th floor button on the nearby elevator. Angela and Brian followed him and Jordan looked at them both. Angela didn't even want to say anything to him. She just stayed quiet until they reached the fifth floor, bracing herself for the rest of the evening.


End file.
